


The Family and Friends of Tris Chandler

by river_rose_writer_314



Category: Emelan - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Adoptive family, Bonding, Family, Gen, Look i just really like Tris, Mentors, Siblings, Sisters, chosen family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-10-17 08:38:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17557019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/river_rose_writer_314/pseuds/river_rose_writer_314
Summary: An exploration of Tris Chandler through her various relationships. Mostly taking place post-Will of the Empress.





	1. Actions (Tris & Daja)

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy this story! See the end for more notes.  
> DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters or settings, I've just borrowed them for a bit.

Daja and Tris didn’t talk about their feelings very often-or indeed at all. The weather-witch was far too sharp and the blacksmith too practical for such things, and so they chose not to speak on the issue, leaving that to their sister. This suited them just fine-their love didn’t need words for them to see it. 

It was clear in the way that the moment the circle was reunited in Emelan, Daja offered Tris (and their siblings) a place in her home.

It was clear in the way that Tris decided to move in with her sister, rather than take any other options offered to her, even after they'd been apart for so long. 

It was clear in the way that even when she refused to speak to them on the journey to Namorn, Tris still shielded her siblings and their entourage from the wind and rain. 

It was clear in the way that, after Daja's discoveries of herself with Rizu, Tris ignored all prejudice she was raised with (before coming to Winding Circle) to support her sister.

It was clear in the way that Daja kept Tris’s bed made and her bookshelf dusted through all the months she spent at Lightsbridge, as though she was keeping it ready to be occupied again at a moment's notice, which of course, she was.

It was clear when Tris returned from the university: although she was tired from her travels and more than a little annoyed with all the academics she’d had to put up with, she still helped her siblings to clear away the remains of her welcome-home dinner, and accepted no thanks for it

It was clear in the unspoken agreement between the mage sisters-that neither would disrupt the others work, so Tris’s research and Daja’s forging went on uninterrupted despite their taking place in the same home. 

It was clear in the second unspoken agreement-that the first could be broken when the other was too engrossed in their work to pay attention to eating a few times a day or having a reasonable sleep schedule (which was often), so the sisters could take care of each other. 

Tris and Daja’s bond didn’t need words for them to feel it-it lived in the actions they took every day to make the other’s life just a little easier.


	2. Curiosity (Tris & Briar)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters or settings, I've just borrowed them for a bit.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!

It had all started when Tris found out he couldn't read. She still didn’t like the boy, but she took pity knowing that he lived in a world without the one thing that kept her sane: books. She resolved to be his teacher. Briar claimed not to care either way, but he still practised what he was taught with a degree of diligence he usually saved for Rosethorn. 

Briar, for his part, had taught her how to defend herself in spite of her reluctance to fight. He told himself it had nothing to do with caring for her-or wanting to pay her back for teaching him how to read, he just didn’t want to have to rescue her when she got into trouble (never mind that she was more than capable with her magic. 

Tris taught Briar how to spot a storm coming so she didn’t have to hear him lamenting your beloved plants after a hail storm-or so she told him. 

Briar taught Tris the street cant he grew up with and all the other languages he had picked up through his life-despite his time in Yangjing he was happy to teach her the languages of the east. “So you can read all the books ever written-since that seems to be your aim in life” he would say, though not unkindly. 

Tris taught Briar how to cook: “If you’re going to grow all those beans and tomatoes, you might as well be able to do something with them”

Briar taught his sister all the magical uses for trees- and when he’d finished that, the uses for every herb, every bush and every vine. “Be useful in those experiments of yours,” he said, referring to her research into combining ambient and academic magic. 

Tris and Briar had never thought they could have anything in common. There couldn't be two people with more different backgrounds or opinions on knives. For the most part, they were right- but there was one thing they shared: curiosity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope to have the next chapter up within the next few days.


	3. Compromise (Tris & Sandry)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters or settings, I've just borrowed them for a bit.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Sandry and Tris’s relationship was one of compromise. How could it be anything else? The two were practically opposites: where Tris was sharp, private and quick-tempered, Sandry was gentle, open and patient. Tris had grown up shuffled around between relatives who didn’t want her while Sandry had been raised by loving parents, and surrounded by a doting household of servants. 

Nonetheless, they were sisters. Sandry had been determined to make it work from the get-go, and Tris, though she would never admit it, had grown to care just as much.

To this end, the red-head worked to keep her temper under control where the younger girl was concerned, knowing that Sandry was more sensitive than others she could sharpen her tongue on.

Sandry, in return, didn’t push her sister into parties or balls- at least, not without making sure that there was a tall tower she could retreat to, and that her gown had a pocket to keep a book in. 

Tris would sit in silence while Sandry talked and talked. Tris often didn’t really care about what she said, but she still made an effort to listen, knowing that the other girl would do the same for her. She didn't laugh when Sandry raved about the intricacies of weaving cotton versus wool, or the cutting of patterns, instead listened patiently, knowing that it was as much a part of her sister as the weather was for her. 

It was in this way that they discovered they had more in common than Tris had first thought; neither could stand by while injustice continued. Tris brought home strays of all kinds-human and animals, and Sandry was forever sticking her nose in all sorts of business. They made a silent pact to help each other with their meddling, which suited them both nicely. 

The relationship between a prickly weather mage and a gentle, noble-born weaver would always be difficult to navigate, but, in Tris’s opinion, worth every struggle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! This relationship has definitely been the most difficult for me to write so far, but I really enjoyed the challenge. I hope I did them justice.


	4. Discipline (Tris & Lark & Rosethorn)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi, this chapter contains references to parental/familial neglect and emotional abuse. If that's not something you feel comfortable reading, please feel free to skip this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this story!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I don't own any characters or settings, I've just borrowed them for a bit.

Tris was unimpressed by her foster-mothers. After all, she’d had her fair share of guardians (none of them spectacular) and saw no reason to believe that these two would be any different. 

Of course, Dedicate Lark seemed nice enough. But Tris was no fool. How many people had she lived with who’d put up the same nice facade- never yelling, never getting upset, always so gentle with her- until the first storms came and Tris was once again branded as bad luck and sent packing. 

Dedicate Rosethorn was more in line with the kinds of carers that Tris was used to. She was sharp, no-nonsense, and if Tris was honest, scary. Not that Tris often had much to do with her, but she heard the dedicate threatening to hang Briar in the well from their spot in the garden, which only further convinced her that staying away was the best option. 

So she made sure to not get too settled into Discipline cottage. It was only a matter of time before she would have to leave, and there was no use making it harder. 

Time went on. A week, then two. A month, then another, then another, and Tris was still at Winding Circle temple. She began to think, to merely entertain the idea that she might have found an actual home. 

And then came the storm. Tris had been the first to spot the dark clouds coming over the temple walls, promising a downpour. She could feel the static in the air as the breezes grew cooler. She worried. 

Logically, there was no way she could have caused the storm. And it was even clearer that it could do no real damage, in a temple full of mages. Tris’s mind kept saying that, but her instinct would disagree. 

How often had a storm signalled the beginning of the end for her? Her merchant family would lose a ship out at sea and cast suspicious eyes on the ‘cursed girl’ who they had never treated well. Then would come the blame, and the abandonment, and the loneliness. Tris had done it all before, but that didn’t mean she relished the idea.

She was even quieter at lunch than she usually was-which was saying a lot. Lark watched the girl, concern in her large brown eyes. If any of the other residents of Discipline noticed them, they made no indication of the fact. 

Now Lark was no stranger to children of all varieties. She had, after all, cared for many in her life. But no matter how hard she tried she was still a stranger to Tris. She would not respond to the softness that Sandry did, nor the toughness with which Rosethorn treated Briar, nor even the no-nonsense attitude that Daja and Frostpine shared. With Tris, Lark had to admit, she felt a little out of her depth. 

More than wounded pride, Lark nursed worry. Were she and Rosie were failing as parents? Because they were parents in some respects, as much as Rosie would hate to admit it. 

Of course! Rosethorn. Rosie had been her lover and co-parent for years; always a solid in Lark's life. She would know what to do. 

“Absolutely not,” they were off to a good start.  
“Rosie-“  
“I can’t speak to the Chandler girl. My hands are quite full with Briar, there’s no way I can deal with some hot-tempered, prickly, redhead!”  
Lark suppressed a giggle.  
“What’s so funny”  
“Oh, Rosie she's like you,” Lark wheezed. 

The two women stood before the door. Almost without speaking, they opened it and peered around the doorframe. 

The girl before them looked almost the perfect image of calm. She lay on her bed, raising a comically thick volume above her head so she could read it easily. Her chest rose and fell with the regularity of someone deep in meditation or sleep. 

But Lark noticed the stiffness in her bearing and the sparks jumping from one copper curl to another. This was why they had come here, after all. 

Lark sat at the end of the bed. Rosethorn, looking uncomfortable, sat down on the wooden stool instead. If Tris noticed she made no indication of the fact. 

“Trisana,” Lark began.  
“Tris.” she slammed her book shut.  
“Well, Rosethorn and I have been wondering and we don’t mean to offend-oh how do I say this?” Rosethorn cut her off.  
“What’s got you upset, girlie?”  
Tris stared at them blankly for a moment. She rolled over and buried her face in the covers and mumbled something akin to “Why would you care”

Lark looked up, perhaps a little shocked. She (and Rosie, in her way) had tried to be as gentle and loving as possible. How could she think otherwise? Rosethorn met her gaze. The two had lived together for so long, Lark knew what each look of Rosies meant. This particular one was saying “Leave this to me,”

“Tris?” Rosethorns voice was, if not gentle, softened from her usual tone. The girl looked up.  
“We know why you’re here. Niko told us your family placed you in Winding Circle,”  
“They thought I was bad luck,” Tris mumbled, still not meeting either woman’s eyes.  
Lark glanced out of the window at the gathering clouds. “Is it to do with the storm,”  
Tris only nodded. 

Rosethorn wanted many things at that moment. She wanted to scream and yell and curse the Chandlers for hurting their daughter so. She wanted to track down every child with a story like Tris’s and make sure they were ok. But she didn’t. That would come later. Lark’s hand on her shoulder reminded her of what she needed to do. She knelt so she was eye level with the girl.  
“Tris. I know you’ve had a rough time. But you’re safe here. Lark and I can handle any storm you throw at us, and we won’t punish you for it. You can always find a home here, understand?”  
Slowly, Tris nodded.  
Lark wanted to hug her, then thought better of it, giving her a pat on the head.  
“Would you like us to stay or to be left alone?”  
“Left alone,” 

The two women nodded and left the room, sure to close the door behind them.  
Tris rose, a sort of warmth bubbling in her heart. She turned to her trunk, still sitting open on the floor and sighed. It was time to unpack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading, and for waiting for me to get this chapter out. I promise the next one will be out sooner. <3


	5. Pride (Tris & Niko)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope you enjoy this chapter!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I don't own any characters or settings, they all belong to the wonderful Tamora Pierce.

Niko was old. As much as people reassured him otherwise, he knew it was true. He felt it in the way his joints ached, he saw it in the lines on his face and his grey hair, he heard it in the croak of his voice. But, as he told Lark and Rosethorn once as they voiced their concerns for his health, if bad weather, lack of time, and (earlier in his life) lack of money hadn’t been enough to keep him from his travels, he’d be damned if old age would. 

He kept doing as he always had, attending conferences, lecturing at universities, enjoying himself the way only an eccentric academic could. 

His greatest joy, however, was seeing his old student at work. Trisana, having graduated from Lightsbridge on top of her Winding CIrcle credentials, spent most of her time on her research-combining both of her magics-ambient and academic, to great results. Niko saw her papers presented at some of the world’s most prestigious events and her inventions catch the eye of rulers and the masses alike. Although she shied from the public most of the time, when she did appear to demonstrate her workings and the complex workings behind them, it was truly a sight to behold.

Niko had met Trisana when she was an unwanted child- abandoned by her family for something she couldn’t hope to control. He had seen her struggle with her control of her powers, perform her first workings, and even take on a student of her own. He hoped that an old man might be forgiven for shedding a tear or two when he saw her now.

The thought that she might never have had those opportunities had he not found her at Stone Circle Temple kept him travelling, despite his aching joints, in case he might find another child in need of his help. 

For all his great accomplishments (and he had many), Niklaren Goldeye took the most pride in his old students-including a certain Tris Chandler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! All your kudos and comments really mean the world to me, thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> I really love both of these characters and feel like their relationship doesn't get much attention even in canon-hence this story.  
> This is the first fic I've ever posted, so I'm quite excited!! Please let me know what you think.


End file.
